This island, Isabela, is the biggest island of Galapagos, and here I was born. This island is made of five volcanoes; when you see the island on a map it looks like a seahorse. This morning was beautiful with a clear sky, and from National Geographic Delfina we saw the majesty of Sierra Negra volcano, our destination to explore and admire the second biggest crater in the world. Isabela has penguins at the shoreline, and we got to see them during our pre-breakfast Zodiac ride. We also explored the wetlands, where flamingos and migratory birds feed. Our visit to the breeding center was very interesting; there our guests learned about the efforts to preserve these iconic animals. For the afternoon we explored the beauty of the town and its beaches, lagoons, and picturesque coast. Our day was exceptional, full of magical memories.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 05 Mar 2025
Isabela Island, 3/5/2025, National Geographic Delfina
- Aboard the National Geographic Delfina
- Galápagos
Christian Saa, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Christian was born on the island of Isabela in the Galápagos archipelago. He grew up on a farm and had a magical childhood devoid of cars, electricity, telephones—just pure nature and playful sea lions along the beach. At the age of seven, he moved w...
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National Geographic Delfina
Isabela Island
Today we visited the biggest island of the Galapagos located on the western side of the archipelago. First, we had the chance to visit a small islet where we walked on a lava field that surrounds a shallow lagoon and creeks where whitetip reef sharks sleep during the day. After this, we visited a huge caldera on top of one of the tallest volcanoes of the archipelago. Part of our group hiked this amazing geological paradise to see up close the sulfur fumaroles of this active volcano. The other part of the group visited the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center and the wetlands in town. We also had a chance to relax on the beautiful white-sand beach at Puerto Villamil. We enjoyed lunch in the highlands at a stunning ecolodge where we also walked through the forest and learned about the local agriculture. After lunch, we visited a picturesque lookout from where the small and beautiful islands on the southern side of Isabela can be observed. In the late afternoon, our guests had time to walk around town and enjoy the sunset.
6/10/2025
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National Geographic Delfina
Floreana Island
We started the day on the south-central side of the Galapagos Archipelago. After breakfast we visited Post Office Bay where we enjoyed a Zodiac ride and practiced kayaking with curious sea lions and many marine turtles. We also left postcards and took some from the post office barrel for hand delivery, and then visited a cave previously used by pirates. After lunch, National Geographic Delfina repositioned to the next destination, Champion Islet. There we had the chance to enjoy the beauty of the sea filled with a plethora of marine life. In the afternoon, we navigated towards Punta Cormorant where we found flamingos, many blue-footed boobies feeding along the shore, and hundreds of Pacific green sea turtle nests.